The Calabrese Lab

A pair of HN4 neurons,
one real and one simulated. If you have red-green 3D glasses, you can
see the right cell in 3D.(Cell viewer courtesy Robert
Cannon.)

Our lab studies the
neural circuit that controls the heart of the medicinal leech. We
record the behavior of neurons in this circuit with microelectrodes. Using
voltage clamp techniques, we isolate and characterize the individual ionic
currents which contribute to this behavior. We study how the structure
of these neurons affects their behavior using dynamic imaging and selective
dendritic laser ablation. To understand how these currents and
structures interact to produce the behavior of the circuit, we simulate the
ionic currents and cell connectivity with realistic biophysical models.